Austin
by AmazingAlexis
Summary: Nicole-centric. The summer after 11th grade, Nicole goes to stay with her Aunt Mallery, who suggests she try working at the local diner. There, she meets Austin, who nobody really likes. She can teach Nicole a lot of things, like how to be herself. R&R!
1. Stanton, Florida

**Austin**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zoey 101.**

**AN: Okay, so here goes. This story is one of the two (50-50) that you guys wanted to see next. I figured I'd start with this one, because the idea is much clearer in my mind. I won't start writing any other multi-chapter stories until this one is finished, but you can still vote on them. Thanks. Read and Review.**

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My name is Nicole Bristow and I just finished 11th grade. My mother, Maria Bristow, is a famous seller of cosmetics. I honestly don't know what else to call it.

She is going away this summer, hoping to sell more makeup. Even though her cosmetics line, known as Bristow Cosmetics, is famous world-wide, and we get enough money in about a month to last us for a whole year, she feels the need to go sell more.

I can't go with her, which really stinks. My dad is going away too, but I'm not sure where he's going. She doesn't trust me to stay home alone all summer, so she's sending to me to Florida to stay with my Aunt Mallery.

Aunt Mallery lives in Stanton, Florida, which is about a two hour drive from Miami give or take. I've never been there, but my mom insists that I'll love it. I'm not so sure, but I don't have a choice.

This brings us to right now, where I'm standing at the airport. My mom and my best friend Sarah came to see me off. Sarah is going away to camp anyway, so we would be apart either way.

"_Flight 116 to Miami, Florida is now boarding first class and children 18 and under at gate B."_ They called over the intercom.

We started walking to gate B, where I hugged Sarah and my mother, and then boarded the plane. Aunt Mallery is going to pick me up at the Miami airport, because Stanton doesn't have its own airport.

I found my seat and sat down quietly, pulling out my hot pink ipod. I put it on shuffle, and soon fell asleep listening to it.

--

I woke up to someone shaking me lightly. I opened my eyes to see the lady next to me shaking me gently. I pulled my headphones out of my ears and she smiled.

"We're here. I thought I should wake you."

"Thanks." I smiled, getting my stuff and following her off the plane.

In the airport, I could hardly find my way. I had no idea where I was going because there were so many people. I followed that lady, without her knowing, to baggage claim, where Aunt Mallery was going to pick me up.

I grabbed my bags, and then looked around. Then I saw her, waving. I walked over to her, and she hugged me.

"Hi, Nicole. It's so good to have you here this summer."

"It's good to be here."

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go."

I followed her out to her car, and we got in. It was quiet for a long time. She didn't know me at all, so what would she say.

Finally, two hours and ten minutes later, I saw a sign that read: 'Welcome to Stanton.' We drove through what seemed to be a really small town, and then pulled up to a small white house.

"Here we are."

We got out and she showed me around. She told me where my room was, and I went to unpack. I put everything away neatly, and then looked out one of the two windows. Out this one, you could see all of Stanton. Out the other, you could see the ocean.

I put on some sneakers and decided to go walk around. I was bored, and I needed to find something to do here. I walked down the hall to where Aunt Mallery was sitting on the couch.

"I'm going to go walk around or something." I told her and she looked up.

"Well, alright. I was going to make dinner soon though."

"Really. What were you going to make, if you don't mind my asking." I was starving, which is why I was going to go out. I was going to go find food somewhere.

"I was going to make Spaghetti, because your mom said you love that. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Then write down the number, and I'll call you when it's about ready, and you can head back."

"Okay." I took the paper and pen and scribbled on it: Nicole's cell 663-2145.

I walked out of the house and onto the street. There was no sidewalk, because it was such a small town. I walked toward what seemed to be town.

I walked through the town and this is what I saw: A police station, a fire department, an old man sweeping his driveway, two little girls playing hopscotch on the edge of the road, a grocery store, a miniature version of Wal-Mart, and a diner called none other than Stanton's Diner.

Outside the diner was a girl sitting on the grass. She appeared to be reading a book, and the parking lot was empty. She had brown hair and was wearing jeans and a white shirt with a Stanton's Diner apron over it.

I kept walking until my phone rang. I answered it and Aunt Mallery told me it was almost dinnertime. I turned and started walking back to her house.

I couldn't help but wonder about that girl. She looked so peaceful just sitting there, reading her book. I could never be that calm.

**AN: Yes, it's short. But this was just an introductory chapter. I wanted to introduce Nicole, Aunt Mallery, Sarah, and Nicole's mom. Also, I wanted to end it with Nicole wondering about the diner girl. Please review. I'll update as soon as possible.**

**Alexis Out!**


	2. It Was Austin

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**AN: Thanks to DanaWanabe101 and schilling.klaus for their reviews. Hope you like this next chapter.**

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**(The next morning)**

Last night I asked Aunt Mallery about that girl at the diner. She told me that the girl's name is Austin, and she's lived around here her whole life. She said that Austin's parents own the diner, so she has been working there for a long time. When she was younger, Austin would be sitting at the counter most of the day.

Everyone used to love Austin, she was so funny. Aunt Mallery then told me that ever since Austin started high school, working at the diner has just become a chore. Austin is the same age as me, I learned.

I got out of the shower, and went to get dressed. I pulled on some cutoff shorts and a hot pink tank top, with my pink sneakers. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, since it was hot out. I had my bikini under my clothes, incase I decided to check out the beach. I walked downstairs to where Aunt Mallery was waiting.

"Good morning, Nicole."

"Morning." I answered and I wondered why she was standing at the door. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. I thought you'd like to go to the diner for breakfast today. What do you say?"

"Okay."

We walked out onto the street, and headed toward the diner. Aunt Mallery said that there is no point in driving around Stanton, because it's so small. We walked down the street and up to the diner.

It was really busy. Lots of people were there. The line was out the door. Aunt Mallery looked at the people. They all had on shirts that said 'International Tour of Florida'. Aunt Mallery looked at me, then peered in through the windows. I could see a man, woman, and three girls running around. I didn't see Austin though.

All of a sudden, someone was pushing past us. I looked up; it was Austin. Aunt Mallery turned to me and said that today, Sunday, is Austin's only day off. I looked back at Austin, as she threw her apron over her, tying it as she pushed past people.

"The diner can only seat fifty people at a time!" I heard someone shout. It was Austin. She walked down the line, counting people. "Everyone else needs to sit down and not stand in front of the door. We will seat you as soon as possible."

There were groans heard from everyone else, as they started to move to the grass and benches. Aunt Mallery looked at me, and we walked up to Austin.

"Do you guys need some help?"

"Always." Austin said, counting the people that were sitting.

"This is my niece Nicole. She could help out, right Nicole? I have to go into Miami for work today, and I'm sure you'd have a more interesting day here."

Austin turned to look at me. She raised her eyebrows in a way that said are-you-sure-you-want-to-waste-your-time-here. I shrugged and agreed to work, if it was okay with her parents. She led me in through the people, after Aunt Mallery walked away, and took me up to the counter.

"Mom, this is Nicole. She's willing to help out today."

"Hi, Nicole. I'm Leah, Austin's mother. Thanks for offering to help, we could really use it. Let's see…the pay is 3 dollars an hour plus your tips…and Austin can help you with anything you need, right Aus?"

"Sure mom."

"Great. So let me get you an apron. By the way, Austin, thanks again for coming in today to work. You are our best server, you know. Your sisters can't take on as many tables as you can at once."

"Right."

Leah came back out with another apron. She handed it to me and I slipped it over my head, and tied it behind my back. Austin looked around, counting tables. The three other girls were running back and forth.

"Hey Kasey!" Austin called as one of them came to get some drinks. "How many tables you working?"

"Uh…1 through 8." She said, and nodded at me. "Hey, I'm Kasey. You working here now?"

"This is Nicole. Mallery is her aunt. She offered to work today. What tables are Jess and Carmen working?"

"Jess has 9, 10, 11, and 12. Carmen has 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17."

"Oh my god. That leaves a lot of freaking tables. Nicole, can you take 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22? Or is that too many, do you think?"

"Uh, that should be fine."

"Great. So that is the tables along that wall. They have numbers above them, so you'll know. I'm taking 23 through 35, which is the rest."

"Wow, that's a lot."

"Yea, but I can handle it."

She told me where to get drinks, where to put my orders, where the menus were, and everything else in a matter of two minutes. She walked off, pulling out her order pad and pen. Her mom walked past me leading some people to a table, and whispered table 21 in my ear. I waited until they were seated and she walked away to head over there.

"Hi, I'm Nicole and I'll be your server this morning. Can I get you guys something to drink? An appetizer maybe?" I recited just as Austin had said to.

"Well, I'll have a water, so will the little one." One lady said, and two others agreed.

"And I'll take an orange juice please. Do we want an appetizer?"

"No thanks."

"Alright. I'll be right back with your drinks." I walked away, scribbling down 4 waters and a orange juice on my slip. I gave it to the drinks girl, whose name I learned is Ashley. I noticed that I have people at table 22 now also.

While Ashley was getting my drinks, I headed over to table 22. I recited my line again, and all three of them ordered water. I wrote that down, gave it to Ashley, and took table 21's drinks.

"Are you ready to order, or do you need some more time?" I asked after I had passed out their drinks.

--

Three hours later, the last tourists had left. I was sitting at the counter with Kasey and Jess, who were counting their tips. Their mom came and gave each of us 9 dollars, and Carmen came and sat down next to me.

"This job is the worst. People are so not appreciative enough." She complained, sighing. She took out her tips from her pocket and started counting. I shrugged and did the same. Austin and Ashley were cleaning tables. I offered to help, but they wouldn't let me.

"Hey, Nicole, are you going to work here all summer?" Kasey asked, not looking up from her money.

"I don't know. I guess if you guys need me, I can. I don't have anything else to do."

"Hey mom. Nicole said she can work if we need her, 'cause she has nothing else to do." Kasey called, and Jess rolled her eyes.

"Kasey, I'm sure Nicole would rather spend her time at the beach or something this summer, not here in the diner."

"Really, it's okay. It's not like I know anyone. Today was actually pretty cool."

"Are you serious?" Carmen looked at me. "Today was, like, the worst ever."

"Carmen, come on." Austin said, appearing behind me. "You didn't work 12 tables at a time. Your day was not that bad."

"Nicole," Leah said again. "If you really wanna work here, that's fine. You can pick which day you want to be your day off, but as you saw today with Austin, sometimes that doesn't work out."

"Nicole, why don't you pick Sunday as your day off, and we can go hang out at the beach today. You can start tomorrow." Austin smiled, and I agreed. Sunday would be my day off, just like Austin.

"Okay, so Nicole and Austin are free to go. See you guys later or tomorrow. Nice meeting you Nicole, and thanks for helping."

"No problem. Bye guys." I waved at Ashley, Kasey, Jess, and Carmen who were still counting their cash. Kasey threw up her hand, Ashley smiled, but the other two were very focused on counting.

"So, you have your bathing suit on?" Austin asked as we walked across the grass.

"Yeah. Do you?"

"You bet. Let's head to the beach."

We walked down to the beach in silence. When we got down there, Austin pulled a couple towels out of her backpack. She handed me one, and we laid them down. She pulled off her jeans and tank top, revealing a red string bikini. She pulled her hair out of it's ponytail, letting her curly brown hair fall around her face. She turned to look at me, waiting for me to get ready. I pulled off my shorts and tank top, but left my hair up. I followed her over to a surf shop.

She rented two boards and handed one to me. I looked at it; I didn't know how to surf. She smiled at me, but I shook my head.

"I don't know how to surf. I live in Kansas."

"That's okay. I can teach you. Come on."

We paddled out, and she sat up. We were waiting on a good wave to ride, she explained. I nodded, and she looked at me.

"Why do you wanna work at the diner anyway?"

"I don't know. It just seems like it will be a fun way to spend the summer. Plus, my aunt has to go into Miami a lot, and I don't want to do that."

"Right. She's really busy."

"I know. I don't know why she even agreed for me to come here."

"But if you hadn't, you wouldn't be working at the diner."

"I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that I miss my friends."

"You're only gone for a summer."

"No, I miss my friends at this boarding school I went to in 8th and 9th grade. I got sent to an all-girls school after that."

"Why?"

"I have OMGD." She looked at me like I was crazy. "Obsessive Male Gender Disorder…boy crazy."

"Oh, right. Hey, there's a good wave."

She started paddling and I followed. "Austin, I don't know about this."

"It'll be fine. Just…find your balance and ride the wave. It's easy, I promise."

Okay, here goes nothing. I hope this goes alright.

"Can you swim?" She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah."

"Then you'll be fine." She looked at me, smiled, then started to stand on her board.

**AN: Okay, there's chapter 2. I hope you liked it. Please review. And don't forget, if you haven't already voted, please vote for my next story. Thanks so much!**

**Alexis Out!**


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